1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a transport device and a transport method for a container treatment plant as well as a blow molding machine.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A container treatment plant which may be a blow molding machine, cleaning machine, filling machine, labeling machine, etc., for example, is used in particular in the beverage industry for producing containers. Containers are in particular bottles produced of parisons (preforms) made of synthetic material. Receptacles are to be understood as parisons as well as bottles or containers which are produced thereof. The receptacles are transported to the container treatment plant and away from the container treatment plant by a transport device.
Currently, blow molding machines are known in the prior art, in which multiple blowing stations form together essentially a ring, the blowing wheel. In each blowing station, a parison can be transformed in a container for accommodating a beverage, for example. The blowing stations rotate like a carrousel around a point or spot, such that the blowing stations each can dispense one after another a finished container to a transport device at a fix handover point and, directly thereafter, can accommodate again a new parison from the transport device, which parison is to be treated in the blowing station. Due to the rotation, considerable mass-forces act on the blowing stations as well as their input elements and output elements. This requires a specific construction capable to absorb the acting mass-forces without any difficulty. Such a construction is intricate and thus expensive. Additionally, a lot of energy is needed for the rotation of the blowing stations. This results in comparable high operating costs.
WO 2010/112307 A1 shows a stationary blow molding machine having multiple blow molds arranged in a stationary blowing wheel. In such a blow molding machine, a rotation of the blow molds can be avoided.
In hitherto contemplated concepts for supplying the stationary blow molding machine with parisons and removing finished containers from the blow molding machine, it was preferred, to realize the same transfer times. However, the mechanism necessary for this purpose in a stationary blow molding machine was hitherto quite complicated. Due to this, the production costs for the transport device for transporting parisons to the blow molding machine and containers away from the blow molding machine are currently still higher than in a blow molding machine having rotating blowing stations.